Golf requires players to carry numerous clubs during a round of golf and to continuously remove and replace golf clubs as the golfer hits shots during the round. In many circumstances, the golfer may remove multiple clubs in preparation for hitting a shot to account for variances in distance. For example, a golfer may carry multiple golf clubs to hit a tee shot on a par-3 at a golf course so that the golfer may select an appropriate club based on factors such as wind and slope of the golf hole. In another example, the golfer may carry one or more wedges and putters to a green area so that the golfer may hit a chip shot and complete the hole with one or more putts.
Golfers frequently misplace golf clubs during a round of golf, such as when the golfer carries multiple clubs to hit a single shot. When a golfer misplaces a golf club, such as by leaving a golf club on a prior hole played by the golfer, the golfer must subsequently backtrack on the golf course to locate the misplaced golf club. This includes driving or walking against the flow of play on the golf course, thereby requiring the golfer to avoid subsequent groups hitting shots towards the golfer moving against the flow of play. This increases the risk of being struck by a golf ball and significantly slows a pace of play of the golfer's group and following groups.
Various attempts have been made to create systems and devices for tracking the placement of golf clubs in a golf bag. However, many of these devices fail to correctly identify when a golf club is actually misplaced, or may cause false alarms based on a golfer removing golf clubs during the bag during normal play. For example, most existing systems rely solely on the presence or absence of golf clubs relative to the golf bag without taking into consideration the presence of the golfer. These systems may cause an inadvertent alert to be created when golf clubs are removed from the golf bag, or may fail to provide an alert when a golf club is inadvertently misplaced by the golfer.
What is needed, therefore, is a system for tracking the removal of golf clubs from a golf bag and alerting a user when a golf club is misplaced.